Sunflower

Chemistry, Production, Processing, and Utilization

Enrique Martínez-Force, Nurhan T. Dunford, Joaquín J. Salas

• Publisher: Academic Press and AOCS Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9781893997943
• eBook ISBN: 9781630670627
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Biochemistry
• Index: Biological Sciences

This comprehensive reference delivers key information on all aspects of sunflower. With over 20 chapters, this book provides an extensive review of the latest developments in sunflower genetics, breeding, processing, quality, and utilization; including food, energy and industrial bioproduct applications. World-renowned experts in this field review U.S. and international practices, production, and processing aspects of sunflower.- Presents seven chapters on improving sunflower production with insights on breeding and genetics; physiology and agronomy; common insect and bird pests; mutagenesis; and identifying and preventing diseases.- Summarizes current knowledge of sunflower oil uses in food, oxididative stability, minor constituents, and lipids biosynthesis.- Ideal reference for scientists, researchers, and students from across industry, academia, and government.

1

Breeding and Genetics of Sunflower

Siniša Jocic´ and Dragana Miladinovic´, Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad, Serbia

Yalcin Kaya, Trakya Agricultural Research Institute, Edirne, Turkey

Introduction

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is an annual plant. Its botanical name Helianthus comes from the Greek words helios (sun) and anthos (flower). It is a diploid species (2n = 34) that belongs to the sub tribe Helianthineae, tribe Helianthea, subfamily Asteroideae, and family Compositae (Asteraceae) (Panero and Funk, 2002). The genus Helianthus is native to temperate North America and contains 14 annual and 37 perennial species (Schilling, 2006).

Archaeological findings show that the American Indians were the first to cultivate sunflower in 4625 b.c. (Crites, 1993). Sunflower is used in the diet (nuts and flour), for oil (skin protection from the sun and to decorate the hair), to obtain colors (yellow and red), for medical purposes (anti-inflammatory and diuretic effects), and as an ornamental plant (religious ceremonies).

Soon after the discovery of America, Spanish explorers brought the sunflower to Europe, to the botanical garden in Madrid. This most probably happened during the Spanish expedition in 1510 (Putt, 1997). The first published record of the sunflower appeared in 1568 by the Belgian Rembert Dodoens, one of the famous herbalists of the era. After introduction into Europe, the sunflower was used solely as an ornamental plant for more than two centuries. The first hint of sunflower use as an oil crop was the registration of patent for extracting oil from sunflower seeds for industrial use in 1716 in England. However, sunflower became an oil crop in Russia in 1697, introduced by the Russian Tsar Peter the Great, who was delighted with its beauty. The invention of D.S. Bokarev from the Belgorod area, who in 1829 discovered a way to extract oil from sunflower seeds, initiated sunflower cultivation as a field crop and its use for oil production (Pustovoit, 1990). Until 1850, a few dozen oil factories were opened in Central and Eastern Europe. In the late 19th century, there was a rapid expansion of sunflower and a number of local varieties were created. During this period, the sunflower was used for human consumption and the production of oil.

In the second half of the 19th century, immigrants from the Russian Empire brought with them seeds of local sunflower varieties and spread them to Canada, the United States, and Argentina. The most famous varieties were Russian Mammoth and Giant of Russia. They were used for human consumption, silage, and poultry feeding. In 1892, sunflower was produced on 315 ha in Argentina (Paniego et al., 2007). The first production of oil from sunflower seeds was recorded in 1926 in Canada.

We can consider 1912 to be the year when sunflower breeding on scientific grounds began. That year Kruglik Plant Breeding and Experimental Station in the province Kruglik Kuban in Russia was opened (Škori

, 1988), as well as stations in the provinces of Saratov and Kharkov. Since 1932, the former Soviet Union established several sunflower breeding centers, the first in Krasnodar (VNIIMK), and then in Rostov-on-Don, Kharkov, and Odessa. High-yield and high-oil sunflower varieties (Peredovik, VNIIMK 8931, Smena, etc.) that were created in these centers made a significant contribution to the spread of sunflower as an oil crop on all continents and influenced the development of sunflower production in the world. Sunflower breeding in North America began in Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1937, and in 1950 in the United States in the Texas Experimental Station (Škori

, 2012). The year 1933 is thought to be the starting year of sunflower breeding in Argentina, when Enrique Klein began his breeding work in his field in Pla, Buenos Aires Province (Romano and Vazquez, 2003). In the middle of the last century, a number of breeding centers were opened around the world, especially in Europe (Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia, France, etc.), that created a considerable number of sunflower varieties in a relatively short period of time.

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is one of the four most important oilseed plants in the world (along with palm, soy, and rapeseed) and one of the two most important oil crops in Europe, together with rapeseed. In contrast to other vegetable oils, about 90% of the total production of sunflower oil is used for human consumption, and only 10% is used for biodiesel and industrial applications. It is cultivated on 25.56 million ha, with an annual world production of about 40.64 million tons of seed (Table 1.A) (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2013), with a slight tendency to increase both in terms of production area and in terms of seed production due to an increase in seed yield per area unit (Kaya et al., 2012). The world’s largest producers of sunflower are Russia, with 7.20 million ha, and the Ukraine, with 5.80 million ha. These two countries provide more than 50% of the total world production of sunflower. Other considerable sunflower producers are the European Union, with 4.24 million ha, and Argentina, with 1.82 million ha. Sunflower is also spreading into countries where it has not previously been cultivated, primarily in Asia and Africa. This tendency toward sunflower production is the result of the high quality of sunflower oil compared to other major oil crops. The highest seed yield per hectare was recorded in China (2.46 t/ha) and in Serbia (2.37 t/ha), which is significantly higher than the world average of 1.59 t/ha and the average yield of the largest producers of sunflower. The world’s largest producer of sunflower is the Ukraine, with 10.50 million tons of seed in 2012.

Table 1.A

World Sunflower Area, Production, and Yield for 2012

Country	Area Harvested	Pr...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Preface
• About the Editors
• Contributors
• List of Abbreviations
• Chapter 1: Breeding and Genetics of Sunflower
• Chapter 2: Mutagenesis in Sunflower
• Chapter 3: Sunflower Crop Physiology and Agronomy
• Chapter 4: Sunflower Diseases
• Chapter 5: Sunflower Broomrape (Orobanche cumana Wallr.)
• Chapter 6: Sunflower Insect Pests
• Chapter 7: Sunflower Bird Pests
• Chapter 8: Sunflower Seed Preparation and Oil Extraction
• Chapter 9: Oil Refining
• Chapter 10: Sunflower Oil and Lipids Biosynthesis
• Chapter 11: Sunflower Oil Minor Constituents
• Chapter 12: Sunflower Proteins
• Chapter 13: Utilization of Sunflower Proteins
• Chapter 14: Food Uses of Sunflower Oils
• Chapter 15: Oxidative Stability of Sunflower Seed Oil
• Chapter 16: U.S. and Canada Perspectives on Sunflower Production and Processing
• Chapter 17: South America Perspectives on Sunflower Production and Processing
• Chapter 18: Sunflower Production in the European Union
• Chapter 19: Eastern Europe Perspectives on Sunflower Production and Processing
• Chapter 20: Asia and Australia Perspectives on Sunflower Production and Processing
• Index